I arrived to Beijing, China just one week ago. My first flight was 13 hours. I had a five hour layover in Seoul, Korea and then an hour and a half flight to Beijing. I was greeted at the Beijing International Airport (PEK) by my Chinese roommate, Sue Yang. We had been talking for about two weeks before I departed for China. Outside of the airport was the typical hustle and bustle of city goers moving about their day.
Thanksgiving, regardless of whether you’re back in the States or not, is still a time to appreciate all the wonderful things that surround you in life. I haven’t really missed home too much until this holiday when all my friends and family were together and I was halfway across the world, but in reality, it just made me appreciate them even more. We got to have a Thanksgiving potluck here at TBC, where we got to all bring in dishes and eat some turkey and mac and cheese and pie … yum.
My friends and I really have a knack for planning trips less than 24 hours before we want to leave. But hey, they sometime seem to all workout. This weekend, we decided to visit Qingdao, a city on the coast of China, and located in the Shandong province.
This weekend me and my friend, Victoria, decided to hit up a couple spots in Beijing on our to-do list! We first visited the Lama Temple where we saw beautiful architecture and so much culture. Although we’ve visited many temples now, this one stood out because we saw many Chinese people praying and lighting incense which is something we hadn’t really seen at any other temples.
The photo you see on the top was taken during the very beginning of our tenure at TBC. Everyone from our group came from different backgrounds, upbringings, and lifestyles. I am happy to say that I have established at least some sort of relationship with every single person. That brings me to the photo on the bottom. It was taken at Lina’s birthday party, one of my closest friends, here in China and back in Chicago. It is crazy to think of all of the memories we created from the first to our present pictures here in China.
Again, TBC staff has given us an amazing opportunity to gain cultural awareness through weekend activities. For this opportunity I was able to attend my first ever cooking class at a place called The Hutong. The cutest little gem inside the huge maze of old Beijing. I went with Sebastian, a fellow TBC student to make a special soup dumpling that is popular to eat in southern China.
This past weekend we treated ourselves to a nice little post-midterms vacation … to Shanghai. (I’m really digging the one academic break a month life, though this was the last one so that’s kind of sad). Shanghai is such an international city that compared to Beijing, it felt like we weren’t in China at all. Walking down all the roads and seeing the tall skyscrapers all lit up and streets surrounded by modern buildings, the only thing that reminded me that I was in China was the food and the signs themselves.
This past weekend we treated ourselves to a nice little post-midterms vacation … to Shanghai. (I’m really digging the one academic break a month life, though this was the last one so that’s kind of sad). Shanghai is such an international city that compared to Beijing, it felt like we weren’t in China at all. Walking down all the roads and seeing the tall skyscrapers all lit up and streets surrounded by modern buildings, the only thing that reminded me that I was in China was the food and the signs themselves.
This past Saturday I, along with a handful of other TBC students had the greatest pleasure of spending time with children at the BoAi Hospital here in Beijing. The ages of the children ranged from just over a year old all the way to seven years of age. Many of the children at the hospital are being treated with physical rehabilitation. Our job was to spend some time with them and put smiles on their faces. This was my very first time volunteering at a hospital so I had no idea what to expect.
Lillian Nguyen, a junior from Loyola University Chicago majoring in International Business and minoring in Sustainable Management, is interning at the American Chambers of Commerce in Beijing this fall semester. She obtained the internship through Amanda Barry, the Dean of Academics, Faculty and Research, who connected Lillian to John Zane, Senior Director of Business Services. Her internship also counts for credit in her international experiential learning course which Lillian is taking this semester. We asked her a few questions about her internship so far and here is what she has to say.